Ask a Dispatcher

Q. So...fireworks are legal to set off in a residential neighborhood? Please elaborate for all.

Dear Juneau Resident,

Yes, it is legal. Here is the recycled Ask A Dispatcher answer from the Fourth of July.

State law (18.72.100) prohibits dangerous fireworks and allows salable fireworks. The full definition talks about tube diameter, pyrotechnic composition grams, magensium, chlorate and perchlorate. These are not definitions JPD is going to try and apply in a case unless we find that someone used the firework to hurt another person. The state law is under the fire code and JPD looks to CCFR to do the enforcement under that code.

There is a city ordinance on disturbing the peace (42.20.095), which is what I think we are really talking about here. The basic theory behind the ordinance is the person disturbing the peace needs to be acting unreasonably and disturbing the reasonable person. If JPD were to cite someone for legal fireworks on the night of the third or fourth because of the noise, we would probably not get far in court. Now, the further we get from the holiday and our cultural norm for celebrating the holiday, the better case we get that setting off the fireworks in the middle of the night is unreasonable.